Program Website: http://www.clemson.edu/psych/
Program of Study
Clemson University offers a Master of Science degree in Applied Psychology. The M.S. degree is a two-year program designed for those who would like to work in industry after graduation or to continue with graduate studies.
The Master of Science degree in Applied Psychology is offered with a concentration in either Human Factors Psychology or Industrial & Organizational Psychology. Both of these programs are designed to provide the student with the requisite theoretical foundations, skills in quantitative techniques and research design, and practical problem-solving skills necessary for either entering the workforce or continuing with his/her scholastic career. A formal thesis and an approved, supervised field internship are required for the M.S. degree. Students complete 45 semester hours, including six semester hours of thesis credit and six semester hours of credit for a field internship. Typically, the internship is completed in the summer between the first and second years of the program.
The department is a member of the Council of Applied Masters Programs in Psychology (CAMPP), and both masters programs meet the educational guidelines established by CAMPP. In addition, the human factors program is accredited by the Human Factors and Ergonomic Society (HFES).
Applicants to the M.S. program should have an undergraduate degree with a major in psychology or a related fi eld from an accredited college or university. Students with a major other than psychology should have a minimum of 15 semester hours beyond the introductory survey course.
Student Group
Fifty-six percent of the students in the program are women and 81 percent attend on a full-time basis.
Student Outcomes
Currently, nearly 100 percent of the department’s graduates have either gained employment in their chosen field or have been accepted into Ph.D. programs. In many cases, students have had one or more job offers before the completion of their degree.
Centers, Institutes and Facilities
Students have access to several well-equipped laboratories, including facilities to study process-control simulation, task performance, psychophysiology, sleep research, perception and action, motion sciences, uncoupled motion simulation, human memory and perception, visual performance, driving simulation, usability testing, advanced reading technologies, personnel selection and performance appraisal, workplace training research, industrial-organizational research, social psychology, residential research, occupational stress simulation and cognitive aging as well as virtual reality, robotics and teleoperation facilities.
Financial Aid
Almost all of the students in the department receive a research or teaching assistantship. The assistantships currently range from $9,000 to $12,000 for each nine-month academic year. Students receiving an assistantship also receive a significant reduction in tuition and fees.
Applying
To be admitted into the graduate program one must have an undergraduate degree in psychology or 18 undergraduate hours in psychology or the equivalent. Note that courses in related but different fields, such as sociology, do not count toward the 18 hours. It is highly recommended that applicants have taken at least one course in statistics and at least one course in research methods in psychology. In addition, applicants to the master’s program in human factors psychology must have at least one undergraduate course in calculus. Human factors applicants that do not have calculus may take it while in the program, but it becomes a requirement for the degree in addition to the regular graduate course work. These admission requirements are to be reviewed annually by a graduate program committee comprised of the graduate program coordinator and at least three additional faculty members from the Department of Psychology.
Applicants may apply on the Web at http://www.grad.clemson.edu/Admission.php. Applications, along with a $55 nonrefundable fee, should be received by December 31 for the following fall semester. Every required item in support of the application must be on file by that date. January admissions are not permitted. In addition to the standard graduate application, prospective students will need to provide the following as part of the application packet:
- verbal, quantitative, and analytical GRE scores (the GRE Psychology Subject test is NOT required)
- transcripts from the applicant’s undergraduate (and any graduate) institutions.
- three letters of recommendation (these do not have to be from college professors and they don’t have to be on Clemson’s recommendation form; a letter describing your academic potential and characteristics will be fine)
- a “statement of interest”, i.e., a 1 to 2-page letter describing why the student wants to go to graduate school in I/O, HF or occupational health psychology. It is recommended that as part of the statement of interest the student discuss his or her research interests and how those fit with the research interests of the department faculty.
- a resume (or academic-style vita) is recommended but not required.
Faculty Listing
- Thomas R. Alley, Professor; Ph.D., Connecticut. Experimental psychology. Expertise: experimental psychology, eyewitness testimony, psychological aspects of physical appearance, perception and cognition.
- Edwin G. Brainerd Jr., Associate Professor; Ph.D., West Virginia. Behavioral psychology. Expertise: behavior modifi cation, stress management, romantic relationships, jealousy.
- Thomas W. Britt Jr., Associate Professor; Ph.D., Florida. Social psychology. Expertise: social psychology, motivation, job engagement, stress, health, industrial-organizational psychology.
- Johnell Brooks., Assistant Professor; Ph.D., Clemson. Human factors and industrial-organizational psychology. Expertise: human factors, industrial-organizationl psychology, transportation safety.
- Robert L. Campbell, Professor; Ph.D., Texas. Developmental psychology. Expertise: developmental psychology, cognitive development, mathematical development, development of expertise, moral development, psychological theory.
- Claudio Cantalupo, Assistant Professor; Ph.D., Memphis. Experimental psychology. Expertise: biopsychology, experimental neuropsychology, comparative psychology.
- Patricia A. Connor-Greene, Alumni Professor, Ph.D.; South Carolina. Clinical and community psychology. Expertise: clinical psychology, gender and mental health, the cultural context of psychiatric disorders and treatment, resilience and mental illness, psychology and art.
- Leo J. Gugerty, Associate Professor; Ph.D., Michigan. Cognitive/experimental psychology. Expertise: human factors psychology, cognitive psychology, navigation, situation awareness, usability testing.
- Michael Horvath, Assistant Professor; Ph.D., Michigan State. Industrial-organizational psychology. Expertise: industrial-organizational psychology, organizational justice perceptions, training motivation, job applicant cognitions and behaviors.
- Robin Marie Kowalski, Professor; Ph.D., North Carolina at Greensboro. Social psychology. Expertise: social psychology, health psychology, aversive interpersonal behaviors.
- James A. McCubbin, Professor and Department Chair; Ph.D., North Carolina-Chapel Hill. Psychology. Expertise: occupational health and physiological psychology, health psychology, behavioral medicine, psychoneuroendocrinology of stress.
- D. Dewayne Moore, Professor; Ph.D., Michigan State. Developmental psychology. Expertise: developmental psychology, cognitive aging, adolescent development.
- Eric R. Muth, Professor; Ph.D., Penn State. Psychology. Expertise: human factors and physiological psychology, effects of stress on the gastro-intestinal system, aviation human factors, motion sickness, effects of motion on performance, spatial disorientation, human factors and ergonomics.
- Christopher C. Pagano, Professor; Ph.D., Connecticut. Experimental psychology. Expertise: experimental psychology, haptic and visual perception, kinesthesis, motor control, visually guided reaching, teleoperation, human factors and ergonomics.
- Richard Pak, Assistant Professor; Ph.D., Georgia Institute of Technology. Human factors psychology. Expertise: human-computer interaction, cognitive aging, spatial abilities, memory.
- June J. Pilcher, Associate Professor; Ph.D., Chicago. Biopsychology. Expertise: biopsychology, neuroscience, sleep and sleep deprivation, fatigue, biological rhythms, work/rest cycles, human factors and ergonomics, occupational health psychology, history of psychology.
- Cynthia L. S. Pury, Associate Professor; Ph.D., Northwestern. Psychology. Expertise: clinical psychology, anxiety disorders, evolutionary psychology, cognitive processing and emotion, subjective experience of emotion, teaching of psychology.
- Patrick H. Raymark, Associate Professor; Ph.D., Bowling Green State. Psychology. Expertise: industrial-organizational psychology, sources of performance information used by raters, effects of indirect performance information on rating behavior.
- Benjamin R. Stephens, Associate Professor; Ph.D., Texas. Psychology. Expertise: developmental psychology, perceptual development, vision.
- Fred S. Switzer III, Professor; Ph.D., Illinois. Industrial-organizational psychology. Expertise: industrial-organizational psychology, decision making and motivation, personnel selection, human factors in process control, research methods
- Mary A. Taylor, Professor; Ph.D., Akron. Industrial-organizational psychology. Expertise: industrial-organizational psychology, reactions to sex- and race-based affirmative action, test development, retirement planning and adjustment.
- Richard A. Tyrrell, Professor; Ph.D., Penn State. Experimental psychology. Expertise: human factors psychology, experimental psychology, visual perception and performance, transportation safety.
For More Information
Christopher C. Pagano, Ph.D.
Associate Professor and Graduate Program Coordinator
Department of Psychology
418 Brackett Hall
Clemson University
Clemson, South Carolina 29634-1355
Telephone: 864-656-4984
Fax: 864-656-0358
E-mail: cpagano@clemson.edu
